FARMINGTON — The former maintenance director of an assisted-living complex who is accused of having sexual contact with two women with dementia told police that he gives residents “some sense of humanity,” according to the warrant for his arrest.

David Togninalli, 67, of Burlington was charged Monday with second-degree sexual assault and fourth-degree sexual assault. He posted $25,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Hartford on Nov. 10. He couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Police said Togninalli had sexual contact with two female residents, ages 92 and 77, at Arden Courts of Farmington, 45 South Road. The facility cares for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Residents have their own bedrooms but share common areas, such as kitchens, said Julie Beckert, assistant vice president of marketing for HCR ManorCare.

Beckert said Togninalli was suspended as soon as the allegations surfaced and was fired when police provided more information. He had worked there for three years.

The company performs background checks, she said, but “there wasn't anything like this in his past.” He has no criminal convictions, according to records from the state's Judicial Branch.

Arden Courts has retrained its staff on what is appropriate behavior, Beckert said.

According to the warrant for Togninalli's arrest, the incidents were reported to police on Oct. 21, the day a nurse told supervisors that two staff members saw Togninalli go into the room of a 92-year-old and close the door.

After he left, the woman came out of her room crying, saying that the man who had just left her room had touched her breasts, the warrant said. The woman also said it was not the first time.

The day before, on Oct. 20, another nurse reported that she had seen Togninalli going into the 77-year-old's room and staying for about a half-hour with the lights off. The resident later told a staff member that the man who had just left her room had touched her intimately, the warrant said.

The women are higher functioning than most residents, staff members told police, but their short-term memories fade quickly, the warrant said. Neither woman recalled the incidents when police questioned them, it said.

Togninalli initially told investigators that he never touched any residents inappropriately, although he admitted he stops by their rooms for “personal visits,” then he said he had hugged and kissed residents on the cheeks, the warrant said.

“Togninalli explained that the human touch and compassion made the residents feel good and that it made them happy,” he told police.

He eventually admitted to Det. Douglas Frink that he touched the 77-year-old in a private place, but only after she asked him to, the warrant said. He said he had done that three times, he told police.

“My feeling is I did something for a person that just wanted to feel human again,” he said.

He later told police the residents want to talk, “and I'd ask questions about their life. I feel I give them some sense of humanity and that someone cares, and shares their time with them,” the warrant said.

Togninalli told police he might have touched the 92-year-old woman's breasts inadvertently when he was helping her button up her blouse “because his fingers don't work the way they should,” the warrant said.

His statement about the incident was inconsistent with that of a witness, according to the warrant.

Anyone with more information about Togninalli is asked to call the department at 860-675-2400 or leave a tip on the tip line at 860-675-2483.